Solutions for a cultivated planet

J. A. Foley¹, N. Ramankutty², K. A. Brauman¹, E. S. Cassidy¹, J. S. Gerber¹, M. Johnston¹, N. D. Mueller¹, C. O'Connell¹, D. K. Ray¹, P. C. West¹, C. Balzer³, E. M. Bennett⁴, S. R. Carpenter⁵, J. Hill^1,6, C. Monfreda⁷, S. Polasky^1,8, J. Rockstrom⁹, J. Sheehan¹, S. Siebert¹⁰, D. Tilman^1,11 and D. P. M. Zaks¹²

Abstract
Increasing population and consumption are placing unprecedented demands on agriculture and natural resources. Today, approximately a billion people are chronically malnourished while our agricultural systems are concurrently degrading land, water, biodiversity and climate on a global scale. To meet the world’s future food security and sustainability needs, food production must grow substantially while, at the same time, agriculture’s environmental footprint must shrink dramatically. Here we analyse solutions to this dilemma, showing that tremendous progress could be made by halting agricultural expansion, closing ‘yield gaps’ on underperforming lands, increasing cropping efficiency, shifting diets and reducing waste. Together, these strategies could double food production while greatly reducing the environmental impacts of agriculture.


Source
Nature (2011) 478: 337-342
DOI: 10.1038/nature10452


Author Locations & Affiliations
(1) Institute on the Environment (IonE), University of Minnesota, 1954 Buford Avenue, Saint Paul, Minnesota 55108, USA
(2) Department of Geography and Global Environmental and Climate Change Centre, McGill University, 805 Sherbrooke Street, West Montreal, Quebec H3A 2K6, Canada
(3) Department of Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology, University of California, Santa Barbara, California 93106, USA
(4) School of Environment and Department of Natural Resource Sciences, McGill University, 111 Lakeshore Road, Ste Anne de Bellevue, Quebec H9X 3V9, Canada
(5) Center for Limnology, University of Wisconsin, 680 North Park Street, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, USA
(6) Department of Bioproducts and Biosystems Engineering, University of Minnesota, 2004 Folwell Avenue, Minnesota 55108, USA
(7) Consortium for Science, Policy and Outcomes (CSPO), Arizona State University, 1120 S Cady Mall, Tempe, Arizona 85287, USA
(8) Department of Applied Economics, University of Minnesota, 1994 Buford Avenue, Minnesota 55108, USA
(9) Stockholm Resilience Centre, Stockholm University, SE-106 91, Stockholm, Sweden
(10) Institute of Crop Science and Resource Conservation, University of Bonn, Katzenburgweg 5, D53115, Bonn, Germany
(11) Department of Ecology, Evolution & Behavior, University of Minnesota, 1987 Upper Buford Circle, Minnesota 55108, USA
(12) Center for Sustainability and the Global Environment (SAGE), University of Wisconsin, 1710 University Avenue, Madison, Wisconsin 53726, USA


Posted November 2011